>> hey, joyce. it's sarah at sister carmen. i have good news. >> 2012 starts out well for joyce. >> i just talked to the housing stabilization program and she says that you would be eligible. >> yea. >> through ballot initiative 1-a, the welch family has just qualified for a program that will pay their full rent for three months. long enough, joyce hopes, for her husband to find work. but a month later in february lincoln still hasn't made any progress. >> i was expecting a very, very quick transition from one job to another. i was thinking this is going to be a week, two weeks. maybe three weeks. not even close. >> lincoln's unemployment check is $2,000 a month. less than 1/3 of what the family used to make. it's official now. the welch family has fallen below the u.s. poverty line. one of at least 3.5 million suburbanites since 2007. >> it'll be easy. >> over the years, joyce has learned to b strong for her son michael who suffers from a debilitating chromosomeal disorder. but the hard part was when it ends. she has to show t